Speed Dawn, VOLUME TWO
Not many would expect a tall man, who had recently escaped from Impel Down's Level Five captivity, to just casually stroll in a heavily crowded market with two other fugitives, who murdered a couple of World Nobles, by his side. But that's exactly what Morrow did. With freedom after years of captivity delighting him like a breeze of fresh air, it was clear that the Captain of the Morrow Gang was in high spirits. The First Mate, however, was not so cheery, especially considering that she was pretty much bullied into joining. It was not long before she started asking questions. "Okay, so, what are we doing right now?" "Oh, not much," replied Morrow, "just... walking. I just want to relax a bit before we move on to truly begin this voyage, acquire a strong guy's posse, meet up with Bill, set sail and plunge ourselves into a bizarre adventure! You see, these moments, right now, are the last of the quiet moments that you guys are gonna have. After this, everything's gonna go crazy, noisy and bizarre. I suggest you to relax while you still can." "Okay, you just breezed over something, which I think is very important. That 'strong guy' part that you mentioned, where we just... acquire his posse?" "Yeah, and then we go on and catch up with Bill. Why's that so hard to understand?" Kaguya was quickly losing her patience. "Why, you ask?! Well, we haven't even decided who we're going to face! And even if we did, you think we can just get him to yield to us?!" Morrow, on the other hand, was completely relaxed. "I know exactly who we're going to face." He now had Kamui's attention. "Who?" "King." Kamui and Kaguya looked at each other, before looking back at Morrow. Kamui asked, "You mean the Kingsmen's king King, the King of Kings?" "The very same." Kamui had one last question on his mind. "Okay, but why him?" "He has a cool name." King Arrival at the Royale Blue It took the trio no less than three days to get the Royale Blue Mountains, known to be the stronghold of the mighty bandit King. Although the location was known as the Royale Blue Mountains, there was not even a single mountain in sight, only plateaus of innumerable shapes and sizes, and none of the plateaus were blue. While most people wouldn't care to give a damn about faulty entymology, it was small things like these that irked Morrow enormously. His mind, however, had other important things to focus on. He suddenly asked, "Kagura, Kamui, can you dodge bullets?" Kaguya was immediately annoyed. "IT'S KAGUYA, NOT KAGURA!" Morrow, however, couldn't care less. "Don't go for the words. Go for the emotions behind the words. I repeat, can you dodge bullets?" Kamui's reply was simple. "We don't have to." Morrow smiled. "Good." They walked deeper and deeper into the territory. Kamui suddenly noticed a change in Morrow's movements. His steps were still calm and relaxed, but he seemed slightly more alert. Noticing that Kamui had noticed the change in his movement, Morrow clarified, "I sense a presence." After a few seconds, he spoke again, "Correction. I sense eighty-seven presences." Kaguya raised a brow and spoke, "Well, that escalated quickly." Morrow then warned, "Kamui, y—" and suddenly, a bullet struck Kamui's neck but deflected off his flesh without inflicting any damage. "—ou got incoming!" "Incoming already came in," replied Kamui. A voice echoed from the plateaus, "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE! WHO ARE YOU?" Morrow raised his voice, "I'm the Captain of the Morrow Gang — Morrow. These are my mates." The voice echoed again, "WHY IS THAT MAN STILL ALIVE?" Morrow smiled and turned to his Second Mate. "Haki?" "Haki," spoke Kamui, nodding. "Haki!" spoke Morrow, raising his voice. "THE FUCK'S A HAKI?" asked the echoing voice. 86 men, holding guns and flintlocks of various sizes, finally emerged and surrounded the trio from every direction conceivable. Colonel Mortimer Douglas, the bearer of the voice that questioned Morrow, then emerged from the rocks. "You're in our lord's territory, punk," said Mortimer. Morrow was unfazed. "And your point is?" "My point is get outta here or die!" "I, Morrow, am instructed by nobody." "Okay, that's it! Killing y'all!" Mortimer cocked flintlock rifle, pointed it at Morrow and pulled the trigger. Immediately, the bullet blasted through the back of the gun and struck Mortimer in his shoulder. Mortimer groaned, "Shit, it backfired!" "It didn't," Morrow said calmly. Mortimer was baffled. "Say what now?" Morrow explained, "Your gun fired perfectly. However, I caught the bullet with my fingers as it approached me and then threw it back into your gun's barrel. The bullet ripped through the gun and struck you in the shoulder." "Bullshit!" Mortimer couldn't believe what he just heard. "If you really did what you said you did," another voice echoed from the plateaus, "then you must be a man of remarkable speed and precision." "I am," replied Morrow. "Very well, then," the voice spoke again. King emerged on the top of a plateau, eclipsing the sun's flash with his massive figure. Standing at eleven feet four-and-a-half inches, King was much taller, bulkier and physically imposing than Morrow. Morrow frowned, and whispered, "I didn't expect this." "What?" asked Kamui. "I did not expect this," explained Morrow, still whispering, "For someone who lords over several thousands of men to show up so early in the game... fascinating... fascinating... fascinating!" King took a leap from the edge of the plateau and landed with a tremendous impact in front of the trio, quaking the very ground they stood on. "Catching a bullet and throwing it back into the barrel before anyone could possibly decipher what happened... a feat so simple yet fantastic. This trick of yours didn't amuse me, though. You made my man bleed. You just confessed it. You'll pay for it a hundred times over." "To be perfectly fair, your man fired at my Second Mate and me with lethal intention." "Do I look like I give a damn?!" King lunged forward and threw his fist at Morrow with great force. Morrow dodged effortlessly and retaliated with a punch of his own. Morrow's punch met its mark, but King was unfazed. King's tremendous durability tremendously surprised Morrow and his mates, but Morrow was not deterred. He unleashed a barrage of fists at King, who just stood there, taking the full brunt of all of Morrow's blows without flinching. "Too weak, too weak!" King roared, "If can't hurt me, your speed is useless!" King then threw a barrage of fists of his own, and Morrow dodged every single one of them. King quickly got annoyed. "You quick little bastard," grunted King. King's next blow, like every blow before it, failed to meet Morrow, but pulverized the plateau in from of him. Morrow had disappeared. King turned his head and looked back to find Morrow, standing on top of a plateau, looking down at him. By the time King grunted and turned around, Morrow was already standing in front of him. King was stunned. "Too slow, too slow!" roared Morrow, smiling. King stared angrily, and spoke with his voice full of venom, "Oh, don't you fucking dare!" "If you can't hit me..." "I'm warning you, asshole!" "... your strength is useless, useless, useless, useless, useless, useless, useless, useless!" After a couple of seconds of silence and King grinding his teeth, Kamui asked, "Is that a motherfucking Joj—" "SILENCE!" King bellowed with all his strength and threw a punch with all his strength. Morrow dodged yet again. Kaguya stepped forward. "Okay, Bill, firstly, could yo—" "MORROW," screamed Morrow, "My name is Morrow! Say it! Say my name!" "Can't I just call you 'Bill'?" "No way. We already have a 'Bill' on our crew. You'll just confuse everyone." Kaguya sighed. "Okay, Morrow. You happy now?" "Yes. Very." "STOP IGNORING ME!" King bellowed again, engaging Morrow once more. Kaguya turned to her brother, "Okay, could you tell me why aren't we helping him?" Kamui replied, "'Coz it's a one-on-one." "Does it have to stay that way?" "Well, if we turn this into a three-on-one, the Kingsmen will turn this into a one-thousand-on-three." "Actually, it'd be six-thousand-on three," said a man standing behind Kamui. Kamui turned around to look at King's most trustworthy gunslinger, JaCrispy Django. "I'm in no mood to fight right now," said Django when he saw Kamui ready to fight. He continued, "Besides, I know I'll lose. So let's just sit back and watch the show." Kamui then turned to look at the duel. Showdown at the Royale Blue And he kept looking as hours passed by. Both Morrow and King were bleeding profusely. Morrow's fists were black. King's fists were emitting sparks. Morrow's black fists were strong enough to damage make the King of Kings bleed. On the other hand, King's lightning bolts allowed him to attack Morrow without touching him. They were starting at each other, panting heavily. The fight seemed inconclusive. Kaguya, who had been watching the duel for hours, turned to Django and asked, "You said something about a six-thousand-on-three situation, didn't you?" Django replied, "Sure did." "Is there any reason why you aren't already doing that?" Kamui turned to his sister, "Don't put ideas into his head!" Django answered the question, "Yes, there is. King's honor. King's pride matches his power." King finally spoke, "Okay, enough is enough. Men, grab him!" "Oh, damn it, King," whispered a miffed Django, and clutched his own face with his palm. Morrow stared wide-eyed. "Hey, King, this is a one-on-one!" "Oh, I'm sorry," King replied, "you seem to have mistaken me for someone who gives a damn." "Don't you have any pride as a fighter?" "Fuck pride." Morrow sighed, and nodded, and spoke, "Fuck pride. Pride only hurts, it never helps." Kamui smiled, shouting "I understood that reference!!" Kaguya smiled too, and shouted "I understood that reference!" King pointed at the twins and commanded, "Grab them too!" "None of your men are gonna touch me," replied Kamui, stepping towards King. "You seem to be forgetting that if you don't obey me, my six thousand men will rip your captain apart, and I'm sure that he won't survive their attack, seeing how bloodied and broken he already is." Kamui stopped. King was not done yet, "If you take one step closer to me, your captain dies. Furthermore, we're taking your captain captive. If you resist, he dies. Also, you'll surrender yourself to me and stay quietly in a cage. If you refuse, he dies. Also-also, you'll convince your sister to surrender too. If you fail, h—" "He dies! Okay! I get it," spoke Kamui, very much annoyed. Kamui quietly allowed himself to be chained. Kaguya didn't put up any resistance either. Morrow, on the other hand, refused to be chained. "Let me go," he grunted. The Falling Morrow King spoke courteously, "I have a gift for you, Captain of the Morrow Gang. As per your request, I'm going to let you go FROM A CLIFF." Morrow, with his hands chained, hung by a chain from a cliff. He said, "Just for the record, that's not exactly what I meant." "I know," said King calmly before slashing the chain with his sword. Morrow screamed as he fell, before he began to laugh like a madman. "WRRRRRYYYYYYYYYY!" Kamui, still in chains, spoke, "Okay, now, that's definitely a reference to Jo—" "HEY, STOP LAUGHING, YOU IDIOT!" shouted a chained-up Kaguya. "WHY THOUGH? IT'S A FREE SKYDIVE! THAT SHIT AIN'T CHEAP!" Morrow shouted back. Kaguya turned to Kamui, "Please tell me he did not just say that." Kamui sighed and shook his head, whispering "Good grief." Kaguya asked, "That, too, is a refe—" "Yes. Yes, it is," replied her brother as he simply tore the chains apart and dashed out. He then jumped up and intercepted Morrow's fall, successfully rescuing him. King looked down from the cliff, trembling with rage. He shook, glared and growled in wrath. He gritted his teeth, then opened his mouth wide to breathe heavily. He was panted heavily, his body covered head to toe in sweat and blood. Django was very agitated at Kamui's escape and Morrow's survival, but his attention soon shifted to a weakened King. King soon clutched his chest, and blood began to drip from his mouth. Django was now worried. He screamed and dashed upwards. King collapsed where he stood. Morrow and Kamui watched everything from the bottom of the cliff. "Exactly as I planned," whispered Morrow, sighing. A confused Kamui looked at him for a few seconds before realisation struck him. Kamui's eyes widened. "Oh, no," he muttered. Kaguya, who had already freed herself from her bonds walked up to the two men and looked upwards, at the fallen King. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked. The men's silence gave her the answer. The Fallen King King was surrounded by the Kingsmen. They were worried and frightened. Many of them prayed for their leader's life. Many wept. Morrow walked towards Mortimer and calmly asked, "What is it?" Mortimer gave a simple reply, "Fuck off, pirate!" Morrow was stubborn, "What is it?" Mortimer rose and screamed, grabbing his rifle, but was interrupted by Django. "Keep quiet, old man," he said, before turning to Morrow, "It's a condition, chronic, takes affect when King gets very stressed. Our medic team of one hundred and sixty men failed to develop any cure. It causes several severe problems, like internal bleeding and heart attacks, but I've never seen him this winded." Morrow's eyes were fixated on King. He spoke to Django, "Well, then, you've never seen him spitting black goo. Am I right, or am I right?" "What did you say?" "Watch." Everyone looked at King. He kept spitting blood. In less than a minute, he spat more blood, but this time with a black substance mixed in it. Django was baffled. He stared at Morrow, "How did you know that?" "I've read about this condition," replied Morrow. "You've read about it?" "That's... exactly what I said, yes. I read one book every month. I've read hundreds of books." "You can fix him?" "I can try. First things first, if he dies, will you join me?" "No." "If he lives, will you join me?" "No." Morrow shrugged, "Well, I'll fix him up anyway. You have 160 medics, right?" "That's right." "Summon them. Now, remember. I'm no doctor. I give no guarantees. Also, I'm sure you don't have the equipment." "What do you need?" "Ten super-thin unrusted stainless steel needles, five each of sizes five inches and ten inches. A pump. A scalpel. Anulax vines and Harbulary herbs for medicines. Blood of a starfish to dull the pain." "We don't need to dull the pain. The men will get the vines and the herbs, as well as the pump and the needles. How about a sword for a scalpel?" Morrow stared at Django with a bewildered expression on his face. He then straightened his face and said, "It'll work." King Reborn King's surgery was directed by Morrow. Mortimer was highly suspicious. Django was unsure too, but he knew that Morrow is King's only hope. A cut was made on the patient's chest and the needles were pinned to his heart, from which the black venom was pumped out. The herbs and vines were never used; the potion brewed from them was quickly replaced by Morrow and Kamui with an unknown liquid. So quickly, that nobody around them, except Kaguya, noticed. This liquid was later injected straight into King's heart. While the 160 medics helped as much as they could, Morrow had to perform most of the operation because extreme precision was required. Meanwhile, Kamui kept King's heart beating. The operation went on for an hour. Four hours after the surgery, King awakened, healed completely and forever from his condition. He looked at Morrow, his savior, and had only one question on his lips, "Why?" Morrow asked, "What?" "Why did you save me? Django told you he won't join you even if you saved me. So why did you?" "Okay, first off, I have a reason why I'm here. I'm here for your men." "What do you need them for?" "I'm a level five escapee from Impel Down and I'm gonna sail with a fellow escapee and two World Noble-murdering pupils of Hit." "Hit doesn't exist." Kamui interjected, "Yes, he does. He is the one who instructed me and my sister." King turned to Kamui, "Some asshole trolled you, dude." Morrow's hands were trembling, as they always do when he is agitated. "Can we get back to the point?" King turned his attention to Morrow again. Morrow continued, "What I'm saying is that I'm sailing under very dangerous conditions and I need strong, reliable, brotherly men to help me and sail with me. The reason why I chose you specifically, though, is because you have a cool name." King laughed, and Morrow laughed with him. Still chuckling, Morrow continued, "No, really! Anywho, when I came here, though, and made a man of yours bleed, you showed up to avenge your man. You showed up way sooner than I expected you to. I thought I was going after a big guy with a cool name, but you're more than that. You love your men. You're a good leader. You're someone I'd like to have by my side." King smiled at Morrow, and said, "You have me by your side." Morrow's eyes seemed to shine as he asked, "Really?" King bowed to Morrow, and spoke, "I owe you a debt. A life debt. I'll be by your side as long as I live." Morrow smile waned. "I want a buddy, not a debtor." A surprised King looked up at Morrow. He then smiled, rose and extended his hand to Morrow, who smiled back and shook his hand. King spoke, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Morrow's smile widened and replied, "I think you made a beautiful movie reference." King then turned to his men and bellowed, "KINGSMEN! We are bandits no more! From the next morrow onwards, we are pirates! From the next morrow onwards, we are the Morrow Gang!" All the Kingsmen hailed in celebration. Morrow looked at the tremendous force, now known as the Morrow Pirates Gang. A day ago, he had one brother. Now, he had over six thousand. He was elated. King, CHAPTER ZERO King. That's the guy I'm going after. Why, you ask? Well, he has a cool name. Of course, I'm not a fool who'll just barge into some dude's territory to kick his ass. I'm a man with a plan. I like to come up with tricks and quick plans on the spot. Adaptation. Improvisation. I like to come up with strategies and elaborate plans, too, though. Believe it or not, but this one, in particular, is twenty-two years in the making! Twenty two years ago, Toothpick told me about a wine. It was a very special wine fermented by specially-hired doctors and scientists with the aim to boost athletic performance. Toothpick wanted to give it to his twin kids to turn them physical powerhouses. However, the wine was deemed unfit for utilisation. Not only would the wine enhance physical performance for only brief periods, but it also required special grooming for consumption. To any unprimed person, the wine is a poison which will mix with his blood and damage the heart, resulting in certain death. A trick of pumping out the poisonous wine was developed, but it required great precision, and the heart was immediately needed to be cleansed. Around that time, Toothpick's smuggled goods were threatened by bandits. He sent Bill, that's me, to handle the problem. He expected me to kill King, the strongest bandit in the gang. When I saw King all those years ago, I had a gut feeling that this guy would become a mighty terror. I chose to spike his rum with the wine instead of just killing him. I expected that King was strong enough to survive the wine, and I was right. He survived but fell sick the next day. I did my job perfectly. Toothpick's goods were delivered safely without any trouble from King, who was too busy, tending to his illness. He got better, but I know that he still has the venom in his heart. I thought that inflicting him with a fatal flaw, to which only I would know the cure, will be better than just killing him. I knew it'll give me a leverage over him shall I ever face him in combat. I knew it back then that this plan will benefit me in the future, in one way or another. Now, I have a fantastic advantage over King, and that's how I'm gonna win. — Morrow